Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Electronics may not be as fragile as glass but they aren't as tough as nails either. HardyWeinberg brings up an issue that I didn't address...my panniers are either Ortlieb or have Ortlieb clamps and don't come off the rack...but he was lucky. Wanna drop your computer or other electronics off your bike on a regular basis? Hardy was lucky once but I'd bet he wouldn't be as lucky a second or third time. If you asked most computer people, they would tell you not to drop your computers too often nor subject them to too much vibration. And don't even think about getting them wet.
Somehow I have been unlucky and simultaneously lucky enough that the two times I've crashed (both at the fault of car drivers) were among the very few occasions on which I was
not carrying my laptop in my pannier. Had I been carrying it on both occasions, I'm confident I would have had to replace my laptop both times. But apart from not being bullet proof for large electronics, as everyone else here...definitely worth it, even for cheap ones. You effectively go from driving a convertible to a pickup truck (the best analogy I can think of).